Nashville Teamsters Take Action for Safety, Win Improvements

Fed up with unsanitary and unsafe working conditions, UPS Teamsters in Nashville Local 480 took action. In less than a week, the company changed its practices and began improving conditions.

Hundreds of members signed a petition demanding that UPS immediately take action to address safety concerns. Their demands included:

Hand sanitizer be made available in work areas

Increasing the physical distance between employees in crowded areas

Cleaning and disinfecting work areas and equipment frequently

Providing PPE, including gloves and face masks

Transparency in reporting positive cases in compliance with OSHA and CDC guidelines

Just days after kicking off the petition, members began to see results.

Hand sanitizer was distributed throughout the hub and portable containers were distributed to drivers

Signs have been placed across the facility promoting CDC recommended social distancing between employees

Trucks are wiped down daily, and a checklist is placed in each truck for members to confirm they are thoroughly disinfected

“The improvements we won were a good start, but we know we need to keep the pressure up to maintain these changes and to make sure we get informed when there are positive cases,” said Brian McBee, package driver.

“We are going to hold UPS accountable for following OSHA and CDC guidelines and telling employees if they’ve been in close contact with someone who tests positive,” said McBee.